Opposite Substitutes
by Flipper Boid Skua
Summary: Ant Bully fanfic. After the Cloud Breather assault, an ant winds up in the wasp's nest and a wasp ends up in the ant's nest. And their rescuers learn that you can't replace the one's you love...Especially with different species! R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own The Ant Bully or any of its characters.

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_Wasps aren't above scavenging._ he thought to himself as he flew over his fellows, who were feasting on a large dead beetle. After the Exterminator incident, the ground was practically covered in carcasses. Some, if not most, were other wasps. They had sacrificed themselves to protect the nests and food sources that the human had threatened. It was this bug's job to scour the lawn for wasp survivors.

_If there are any survivors._ he continued his negative thoughts, his large green eyes narrowing. Practically half their colony has been wiped out...including his best friends and all but one of his brothers.

His antennae lowered in what could've been sadness and he gave a depressed sigh.

Movement caught his attention and he stopped in a hover, scanning the ground. No wasp in sight. Currently, he's too high to see smaller insects. It shouldn't matter then. He was only to be looking for his own kind. Yet, he did have _some _curiosity. Diving down to the ground, he leveled off and alighted, not even waiting until his long orange wings folded before rushing forwards to a tall clump of grass.

He was sure the movement came from here. Shoving the vegetation away, he moved pass and paused, head tilted inquistively.

There was an ant lying on the ground. A female, he judged by her antennae. A forager, perhaps. No doubt she paid a part in stopping the Exterminator, as she still clutched that silk-shooter. What interested him was although the Death Cloud had obviously passed this way, this little insect was still alive!

At first he thought it was the wind, but there was no wind. Her blue-tipped antennae were twitching. Hearing her shallow breathing, he looked around. He wasn't sure what to do. He was instructed to bring back WASP survivors, yet the Boss might be interested in this ant...this ant that survived the Death Clouds.

That decided it. He picked up the unconscious insect in his forelegs and backed away from the grass, so he'll have room to take off. Beating his wings, stirring a cloud of dirt, he pushed off the ground and into the air. He paused into a hover, as if having second thoughts.

Would it be acceptable for him to bring back this ant? Would it be acceptable for him to disobey very precise orders? But what about the ant? He wouldn't care much for her if it wasn't for the fact that she survived something nobody else did.

_The Boss will be interested._ His mind reassured him. _If not, then you can ditch the bug and go on with your job._

Flying towards the nests, he headed to where his leader was most likely to be. With so much food available, he'll probably be in the Central Nest, eating. That's where he should look first.

His hunch proved correct as he approached the leader's nest. Landing by the rim of the entrance hole, he crawled inside to see his superior feeding on a cricket. Judging by how the smaller insect twitched and whimpered, the Boss didn't scavenge and hunted instead. It wasn't uncommon for wasps to eat their prey alive, although it was easier and often quieter to kill quickly...

"Um...Valdar, sir?" he started, addressing his leader. Now that he was here, he felt nervous. Will he get into trouble? Valdar didn't turn to him and continued his lunch, twitching his wings and antennae as a sign for his fellow to continue. It was too late to turn back now.

"I found this and I'm not sure what to do with it." he stated vaguely. He's been planning his speech, but had forgotten it at the moment. His leader glanced at him and the ant, then back at the cricket, who was weakly trying to crawl away in vain.

"Eat her if you want." Valdar stated in a bored tone as he reached out with a foreleg and dragged his unfortunate victim back to its original spot.

"Sir?" the subordinate wasp questioned, momentarily confused. Eat the ant? The smaller insects may have been their enemies, but they were their allies against the Exterminator. How could they eat their allies?

Valdar looked back at him, still holding the cricket in place, his vertical beak-like jaws covered in blood. "Frei, forget what happened between us and the ants. Our past alliance with them was only a matter of convenience. We needed to defeat a threat, the ants knew how to do it. Our truce was only temporary at most."

Frei fluttered his wings anxiously. He wanted to state something, but was hesitant to do so. Only when he plucked up his courage did he say it. "But sir...some of us were saved by the ants."

His last surviving brother was one of them. It was the mini human and his ant friend that rescued his sibling from the clouds.

"True enough." Valdar said, nodding in agreement. "And for that, we are very grateful. But a friendship with the ants is dangerous and our past and future hostility to them was and never will be personal."

Frei knew that well enough, for the wasps were an immigrant species. This particular colony came from a desert, though more of their kind can be found in forested areas as well. In fact, anywhere their prey, the tarantulas and trap-door spiders, were found, the wasps were never far off. They needed the large spiders as hosts for their young ones and, as a result, was very dependant on them.

However, long ago, Frei's entire colony was accidentally dugged up from their underground nests and imported here by the humans. They wound up in the Cactus Gardens, which they found to be very much like their old home. They took over these paper nests from the local wasps, who were smaller and had black and yellow colorings.

Frei's colony had a home and plenty of game for the adults. However, one vital thing was missing: their spider hosts.

The pioneer wasps tried to find a replacement spider species, but those they found were either too small to be practical or built webs, which made things dangerous, as there was a risk of getting caught...a high risk that wasn't worth it. They heard from the ichneumon wasps (who now migrated elsewhere) that caterpillars made wonderful hosts. The butterfly larvae were soft and ate voraciously. However, the wild caterpillars weren't big enough to be used by Frei's kind, so there was a problem with that method.

It was then that they noticed the ant colony nearby. It wasn't the ants themselves that caught their attention, it was the numerous caterpillars they raised. Unlike the wild ones, these were large and fat, obviously well cared for. So it was these that they chose for the hosts. Of course, the ants were much less than cooperative. They fought to defend their livestock and the wasps fought to take them away.

They've been enemies since, working together for the first time not too long ago.

Making peace with the ants meant forsaking the caterpillars and the wasps could _not_ afford such a thing. The very survival of their pupas depended on it.

Frei shook his head and quickly went on. "This ant was caught in the Death Clouds and-"

Valdar interrupted him with a reassuring comment. "The poison doesn't last long in the bodies. She's perfectly safe to eat."

The other wasp said nothing. Normally he wasn't so against eating ants. With so many raids, most, if not all, wasps had come to enjoy the taste of the smaller insects. Frei was one of them, but a discovery like this was too important to eat.

Valdar sensed his fellow's hesitation and assumed he must be a type of conscientious objector. He reassured him once more. "I'm sure her colony won't miss a dead ant."

The wasp leader turned back to his cricket, who by then had passed on. Frei hesitated once more before finally saying what he came here to say.

"That's the thing, sir. She's still alive."

Valdar paused.

--

"These poor, poor bugs..." Mesha, the nurse ant, muttered as she walked along the bodies of fallen insects. It was unbelievable how many had died. It was also surprising to her that so many lived here. She never noticed...Many of the bodies were wasps, she noted. Some had ants nearby and she didn't need to get closer to see that they were as lifeless as the corpses around them.

Occasionally, she'll come across predatory bugs, like mantises and beetles, indulging themselves on this endless buffet and the nurse ant was careful to give each a safe distance, staying hidden if she can.

It saddened her every time she saw a fellow ant lying motionless on the ground. Seeing one in particular, he antennae lowered and her eyes got big and shiny in the ant sad face. As she approached, she felt a clench in the center of her abdomen, where her heart was.

She recognized this ant.

He was her boyfriend, a brave warrior, often spending his time guarding the ant hill. He'd gone to fight the Cloud Beather and when she begged him not to, he promised he'll return as soon as it was all over and have dinner with her, with honeydew and sweetrocks. And now...

The young female ant crouched down and placed a hand on his. There she stayed, eyes closed, motionless for a few moments.

It was the sound of coughing that snapped her out of it. Her antennae perked up at the sound and her eyes snapped open. She shot her gaze to the side and saw a wasp lying on the ground. There was a skid mark between him and the ant before her. No doubt this was the wasp her boyfriend teamed up with.

The larger insect's wings twitched and one of his front legs shifted weakly.

Looking at her boyfriend, she stroked his antennae gently with her hand before standing up. Cautiously she approached the wasp, though her wariness was probably unnecessary, seeing the other bug's weakness. She paused at his side before lightly touching his thorax right below the wings. Almost instantly, the wasp's head jerked to face her and he roared threateningly, as if she were one of those scavengers that might eat him.

Mesha jumped back with a startled cry. The wasp fell silent, looking at her, and seemed to realize that she meant him no harm. The ant took a step closer.

"It's alright. I'm going to help you." she reassured. The wasp just stared for a moment, mouth vibrating in thought. Finally, he gave a weak nod and his head crashed back on the ground.

_He's unconscious._she thought before walking closer. Carefully, she pushed the wasp onto his side, then his back. With a grunt, she lifted him clear off the ground. Although ants could lift many times their own weight, Mesha was unuse to doing such a thing. After a bit of unbalanced swaying, Mesha stabilized herself and began walking for the ant hill. Climbing the slope was a burden and one of guards stopped her.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, staring up at the comatosed wasp.

"He's hurt. I can't leave him outside." she told him. He shook his head.

"But you can't bring him in _here_ either. It's too dangerous." he said.

"If I leave him out here, he'll be eaten or something. He'll be safer in the colony. After helping us with the Cloud Breather, it's the least we could do." Mesha negotiated. The guard sighed and gazed off to the side in thought. Mesha saw her chance and pushed on. "I'll watch him and make sure he won't cause trouble. I promise." She lowered her antennae. "Please. He needs help and...he's the only one I have left."

Looking at her, wondering what she meant, he noted the beseeching face. For her sake, maybe he should take the chance. He sighed, giving in.

"Get him down there before I change my mind." he muttered. Nodding, Mesha rushed through the entrance and worked her way into the private chamber that served as her room. Carrying the wasp has earned her rather curious looks, though some were heavy in disapproval.

She ignored all of them and entered the privacy of her room. Gently, she placed the wasp down onto the soft soil. The larger insect gave a subconscious grunt and he shifted slightly before going quiet.

Mesha sat nearby and waited patiently for him to wake up again...

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A story I've been wanting to do all week. As you can tell, I LOVE the wasps. And I can't be the only one! Someone out there must like them too and I hope that someone reviews!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own The Ant Bully or any of its characters.

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Valdar turned around and moved closer, eyeing the ant more intently. She was certainly a forager with blue on the ends of her antennae. He'd once seen young foragers-in-training have the blue, or red, colorings. Although this one was older, she must've kept her antennae marks.

She was indeed alive, he could hear her mutter unintelligable things in her unconscious state and she shivered occasionally in some kind of reaction.

"Are you sure she was in the Death Clouds?" he asked. Frei nodded quickly.

"Yes sir. The area I found her in had the Clouds pass by and you can still smell it on her shell." he reported. Valdar's antennae twitched, as if taking a sniff. He nodded.

"It's rather strong..." he muttered, then as an afterthought continued. "Any wasp survivors?"

Frei lowered his gaze. "No, sir." He looked up again. "But I can keep searching, sir."

Valdar shook his head. "Unnecessary. I'll send others. You can take this ant to the Western nest until she's recovered. And accompany her to ensure that she won't be a burden when she wakes."

Frei nodded and Valdar turned to his meal. "Great job." he praised. The other wasp backed out of the nest and took off towards the west side of the human's nest.

When the wasps took over the paper nests they were quick to specialize each. The Central Nest was specialized in food and host storage. The Southern Nest specialized as a rest stop during the day and a place to sleep during the night. The Eastern Nest-the one the Exterminator destroyed-was the nursery, the most important nest where the females laid their eggs on the host and the young pupas were born and raised. The Northern Nest was a sort of training base where the wasps sharpened their hunting and fighting skills on live targets. It also helped in teaching the young ones those important life lessons.

The Western Nest was where the sick and wounded was tended to until they got better...or not...

Arriving at his destination, he quietly landed and went in. Around him were wasps injured by the Exterminator and the ant raid that took place beforehand. One of them was his brother and he couldn't help but approach him.

"Hey Feuer. How you feeling?" he asked by way of greeting. His brother gave a cough and looked at him.

"I've felt better." he answered. He tried to shift and his eyes narrowed in a wince. Then he noticed the ant. "What's with that?"

Frei looked at his cargo. "Valdar wanted me to bring her here."

"Why?"

"Apparently, she's immune to the Death Clouds."

Feuer grunted almost wistfully. "Lucky her." Frei knew that Feuer had barely escaped the Death Clouds and he only lived because he held his breath at the last second until the human kid got him to safety.

"I'm supposed to watch her." Frei informed. Feuer chuckled in amusement.

"My older brother's been reduced to a babysitter." Frei narrowed his eyes at the joke. Normally, he'd start a playful scuffle that'll usually end when he pins Feuer down and forces him to take the words back. However, his younger sibling is injured at the moment and he'd rather not make things worse.

"So..what do you think my chances are at surviving this thing?" Feuer asked, changing the mood from mirth to depression. Frei hesitated. His brother's condition, to be honest, was nowhere near stable. At any moment, he can go into his death throes. But that wasn't something to tell him. Might make him lose hope.

"Very good. After all, you are related to me." he reassured in a mock-vain tone. Feuer would've smiled if he could.

"Did any of our brothers live?"

To this, Frei knew better than to lie. When he shook his head, Feuer's antennae lowered and he gave another cough. Then with a heavy sigh, he laid his head back down to sleep.

Frei watched over both his brother and the ant. He should be feeling at least slightly happy, since his brother appears to be improving since last time he visited. However, noting the last second weakness, he was not at all reassured...

--

Mesha looked over the wasp's body, analyzing the extent of his injuries. 5 of his 6 legs was obviously damaged, only one of his forelegs seemed unscathed.

His wings were crumpled a little. Perhaps, hopefully, they'll heal quickly and he'll be able to fly in no time. His head, thorax, and abdomen seemed undamaged, although his body smelled of the Clouds. His internal damage will be hard to determine, and she hoped it wouldn't be severe.

To check this, Mesha approached the underside of the abdomen and brushed her antennae against it, listening for his heartbeat and breathing. His breaths came heavy and labored, his heart sounding irregular.

Stepping back, she looked over at the wasp's head and jolted back in surprise. The large insect was looking right at her. She wondered if the wasp was even awake or not, as it's hard to tell in a bug that cannot close or even blink its eyes. As an experiment, she backed up even more. The big bug's head followed her movements.

"You're awake..." she muttered the obvious. The wasp stared for a few seconds longer.

"Yes...I am..." he answered softly with a weak nod. "...Barely..." He gave a cough before looking around. "Where am I?"

"Inside the anthill. I didn't want you outside, where those other bugs were practically waiting to eat you." she told him. The wasp looked back at her.

"Thank you..." He laid his head back down, his whispers softening. "Thank you..." He rested for a moment before continuing. "I'm Blitz."

"Mesha." She hurried on. "Do you want anything? Food? Water?"

Blitz shook his head lightly. "No. I just need more rest."

Mesha nodded in agreement. Rest is always the best cure for everything.

But she wanted to keep him talking. She wanted to know more about what happened to her boyfriend. But she kept her personal desires at bay as it's best to put this bug's needs ahead of hers.

However, that was not what this wasp had in mind. "That ant...you knew him..."

Mesha paused, not responding. Blitz looked at her.

"I thought I was dreaming when I saw you sitting near him...Imagine my surprise when I found out that you were real..."

That would explain why the wasp tended to stare at her rather intently. Mesha sighed. Now that she was on the topic, she felt an almost painful sadness. Maybe it was best to discuss this later, when her grief had subsided a bit.

"I don't want to talk about it." she said. She was expecting Blitz to argue, but he didn't.

"Right..." He coughed again and then asked another question. "Why are you helping me?"

Mesha didn't give the full answer, as that would bring back the topic that she wants to avoid at the moment. "I felt it was the least I could do. You wasps did help us beat the Cloud Breather."

Blitz paused and, with great effort, shook his head. "I wasn't much help." He coughed and laid silent, trying to recover from his recent movements. In the meantime, Mesha tried to reassure him, stroking his foreleg.

"I'm sure you tried your best..." she said. Blitz was silent and when he finally spoke, his voice sounded almost angry. Whether it was directed at her or himself was vague.

"You wouldn't know..." He grunted in pain as he tried to shift to lie on his underbelly. Mesha tried to help and rolled his over, wincing as she heard his agonized cries. The 'torture' didn't last long before the desired position was achieved.

"Sorry." Mesha apologized, feeling bad for causing him pain. Blitz gnashed his jaws and twitched his wings, trying to desensitize himself to the aches in his body.

"It's alright." His words were getting quieter. "You're only trying to...help..." Mesha almost didn't hear the last word for it was so soft. It took her a moment to see that the wasp was unconscious again.

Sighing, she waled out of her chamber to run a few errands. Hurrying to the food chamber, she took a fresh bowl of honeydew (cough, cough) and another bowl of sweetrocks of various color. She wasn't sure if Blitz will even like these foods, but if he did, she wanted to give him variety. She dropped those back off in a corner of her room and checked on Blitz. He was still out cold...

She then made a rare visit to the colony's wizard, Zoc. He was in his chamber, coating a new batch of fire crystals with resin. He looked up at her and smiled in greeting. "Can I help you?" He asked this as if she was one of his customers. Mesha assumed that she wasn't the only one to visit Zoc. After the confrontation with the Cloud Breather, there is a lot of wounded and the ant wizard had all sorts of healing remedies.

"I need something to help a friend of mine." Mesha told him. She was very vague to specify who her friend was. She didn't want to risk it, in case he'll refuse to help her. "5 of his legs are hurt and...both his antennae is injured."

Blitz's antennae were perfectly fine, but she didn't want to tell Zoc that her 'friend' had wings...That'll definitely get him suspicious.

"And it's a great effort for him to move." she added. "And he can't stop coughing."

Zoc looked thoughtful before he reached for a few green plants. "These are yucca leaves. They give strength and will help your friend with his weakness." He also took bottles that were filled with yellow liquid. "The resin will harden into casts for his limbs."

"Thank you." Mesha said, but before she left. "Can I have extras? Just to be sure?" After all, Blitz is much larger than the average ant. Zoc nodded and gave out a few more bottles.

Mesha nodded a 'Thank you' and a 'goodbye' before walking out and hurrying back to her chamber. There she found Blitz awake and attempting to groom his face with his one good leg. Seeing her entrance, he turned his head towards her.

"You're back..." Though his voice was still weak, the ant thought he sounded relieved. He quickly explained why. "I'll admit...I don't feel comfortable being here alone without you around."

Mesha nodded, somewhat pleased that the wasp found her presence reassuring. It didn't surprise her, giving that she was helping him. Approaching, she asked him a few questions.

"What foods do you like eating?" She knew the answer would disgust her and she inwardly braced herself. Blitz didn't disappoint her.

"...Caterpillars, to be expected...Spiders are a natural treat...Crickets aren't bad either..." He paused, staring at her, as if wondering whether to add something. He appeared to agree with himself and Mesha knew the words even before he said it. "...And ants too..."

Even though she was prepared for such a thing, it still scared her and she took a few steps back. "And am I safe being near you?" How could she not ask?

Blitz forced a soft chuckle. "Yes...I believe you are...I haven't tried to eat you yet, have I?" He did have a point. Mesha willed herself to come closer.

"Do you like sweets?" she continued her questions. Blitz gave a weak nod. "And...do you like trying new things?"

This took longer for Blitz to answer and when he did, he sounded apprehensive. "Depends on what the new thing is..." He coughed, his breathing getting more labored.

Mesha took one of the yuccas leaves. "First thing's first, we need to do something about your health." Blitz narrowed his eyes at the leaf and clamped his mouth shut. Mesha knew it was going to be difficult to get this carnivorous insect to eat this plant. However, it was for his own good. "Come on, Blitz. It'll make you stronger."

The wasp huffed doubtfully and managed to shake his head. "Nein..."

Mesha didn't know what that word meant, but it was reasonable to assume that it was a protest. She crossed her arms. "Don't be stubborn. You want to get better right?"

"Of course...More than anything..." he answered, not removing his glare from the leaf.

"And this will help. I promise." she reassured. Blitz was silent, almost thoughtful. He had another coughing fit and became breathless. He gave another nod and reluctantly opened his jaws. Mesha hesitated at the sight of his sharp teeth. Then, putting her nervousness aside, she came closer to his mouth. This was going against all her reasoning. This insect, friend or not, is a predator and he has predatory instincts somewhere in his head.

Lifting the leaf, she saw Blitz flinch and she knew that he was also fighting his own reflexes. The wasp closed his jaws tentatively on the leaf and he began to chew on it. Mesha saw him shudder and retch. She could tell that the leaf tasted nasty and it was all he could do not to spit the stuff out. He forced himself to swallow and panted immediately after.

"I'm never...eating a plant...again..." he muttered to himself between breaths. Mesha immediately rushed to a nearby water source, grabbed a large handful, and hurried to the wasp.

"Here. This'll get rid of the taste." she informed. Again, Blitz opened his mouth almost eagerly and his tongue extended from the back. It was long and pointed, black and bristly. The tip dipped into the large drop and the water was sucked through. Once the water was gone, the tongue retracted back into the mouth.

"Thank you...I really needed that..." he said with a grateful nod. Mesha nodded back, rather curious about his method of drinking. Then, she took on of the resin bottles and turned back to Blitz.

"Now. To help your legs and wings. How much do they hurt?" she asked. The wasp shifted a bit and couldn't help but cry out. His call lowered to a moan before disappearing altogether.

"Very much..." He twitched his wings and winced. "My wings are less painful though..."

"I'll put some on those then. I'd prefer to wait to fix your legs." she stated. Blitz nodded and turned his head to watch as she applied the resin to the base of his wings. It was a bit painful and he twitched occasionally, but did little else. His gaze followed her as she moved to the other side to mend the next pair.

"Now. Try not to move your wings too much. They need time to heal." Mesha told him as she finished. Blitz nodded and laid his head down.

"That plant stuff actually works." he mentioned. "It's easier to move and not as hard to breathe."

At this, Mesha smiled. She was happy that the plant has proven itself and even more happy that Blitz was getting better...

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Thanks for the review! Glad you like the wasps too. Now I know that I'm not alone! Squee!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own The Ant Bully or any of its characters.

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Something woke Frei in the middle of the night and his head jerked up. He was still in the Western nest and had placed the ant in an isolated corner away from the other wasps. Although they were injured and weak, the large bugs can, and quite possibly will, eat an ant...happily.

Frei had stayed by his brother's side all through the night and the previous day, trying to make his younger sibling as comfortable as possible. When it was time to sleep, he huddled close to his brother to keep him warm in the cool night.

Now, he found Feuer shuddering convulsively. He felt himself panic and looked around frantically, unsure of what to do. Was his brother even awake? If not, should he wake him? Would that make things worse? He cursed himself for this cluelessness.

Reaching a decision, he took the risk and nudged Feuer with his snout. At this, the seizure stopped and the distressed insect went still and curled into a fetal position. Even though the shaking stopped, Frei felt his panic skyrocket.

That's a death posture!

Without thinking, he roughly pushed Feuer's body with his head and forelegs, trying desperately to stop this from happening.

"Feuer! Get up! Come on, buddy...get up..." He stopped his efforts when his brother gave a cough. He's still alive! Feeling some relief, he circled around to meet face-to-face. "Are you okay?"

Feuer shivered slightly and looked at his concerned kin. For a second, he seemed confused and disorientated, like he didn't know who it was he was looking at. But luckily, he found out a few seconds later. "Frei...?" The said wasp nodded.

"It's gonna be okay, little bro." Frei reassured. Feuer paused, gave another shiver, and coughed. His antennae lowered and he weakly shook his head.

"I'm not gonna...make it, Frei..." the dying insect muttered. Frei objected instantly, with much vigour.

"Yes you are, Feuer! Don't say stuff like that! You're scaring me." Frei realized how childish he was acting, but he couldn't help it! Anybody would have the same reaction, wouldn't they? "Come on...Don't do this to me..."

"I don't have much choice, Frei...you know that..." Feuer told him. Frei gave up and said nothing at the gentle rebuke. He didn't want to accept his brother's fate, but he knew Feuer was right. There's nothing he could do...

"Sorry..." Frei muttered sheepishly. Feuer responded by laborously lifting a foreleg and softly batting Frei's face. The older sibling sighed sadly. Feuer used to do that a lot when he was a pupa...usually to start a game or to make somebody feel better.

"Now, now...big brother...It's not all bad....At least now...you won't have a pesky little brother bothering you..."

Despite the situation, Frei chuckled lightly. He remembered when they were younger, how annoyed he'd get when Feuer insisted on following him everywhere. When they were older, Feuer would joke on him at every opportunity and try to steal his food when he wasn't looking, both usually brings a round of roughplay.

With these memories, there was always good ones. Feuer's an amazingly loyal brother, always watching his back, rescuing him in ant raids and always taking the blame for him. There were multiple occasions where Frei was saved from major trouble because of Feuer...

"And I'm gonna miss that 'pesky little brother'..." Frei muttered in his reminiscing. Feuer nodded fondly, then gave another cough. Frei nuzzled his brother in reassurance and the other wasp quieted down and settled on panting.

"Just don't miss him too much...he won't be coming back..." He had another brief seizure before continuing. "But he does want his big sibling to take care of himself...and that ant too...she's special...like the pesky little brother..."

The last few words were said in the same mock vain tone Frei used the previous day and the older wasp couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head in amusement. When they were younger, they loved to talk about themselves in a third person POV, like they were referring to somebody else.

Frei almost felt better. Bringing back old traditions was a very comforting way to accept the situation and that's probably why Feuer was doing it.

"Okay. The big sibling can do that. He promises." he said. Feuer again batted his brother's head, but it was a much weaker movement than before.

"Good...Good..." One last cough and Feuer went limp, gasping desperately. Frei forced his gaze away. He knew his brother was suffering and he didn't want to watch. He heard the laborious breaths slowly began to subside. After a few moments, it stopped altogether and Frei risked a glance. His brother's crippled wings gave a final twitch...and he was still...

Frei sighed shakily, not knowing what to do now. Lifting a foreleg, he sadly batted his brother's motionless body just as Feuer had done with him. Then he nudged Feuer's head as if hoping that there was some life left inside.

There wasn't...

Not wanting to depress himself further, he wandered away from the body and listlessly moved to the ant he brought. Giving his decease kin one more glance, he laid down next to the ant and sighed again. He looked at the smaller bug.

"Don't worry ant." he addressed the still-unconscious insect. "I'll honor my brother's wish. I'll take care of you..."

_As if you were my little sister..._ he thought, but didn't say, as he settled into an uneasy sleep. It was going to be a long night...

--

As Blitz slept relatively soundly, Mesha busied herself applying resin casts to the wasp's injured legs. She was extremely careful not to wake the bug, but it was difficult. The treatment's painful and there had been a few false alarms where she thought Blitz had woken up.

She wanted to do this while he was sleeping to avoid putting him through more discomfort than necessary. Though the yucca leaf seems to dull the pain, she didn't want to take the chance. Pain can make a wasp angry, and to make a predatory bug angry could be the last thing you ever do.

That's the way she saw it...

Working one leg at a time, she searched for any small cracks in the shell, any sign of injury. She knew she had to work quickly, as Blitz could wake up at any given moment...

That moment happened to be now, but luckily, she had just finished with the last limb. She moved back to watch his reaction. Blitz shook his head and shifted slightly. His large eyes widened and he seemed surprised by the casts that seemed to have appeared out of midair.

"Told you I'd prefer to care for them later." Mesha muttered. Blitz looked at her in confusion for a moment before nodding in gratitude. Mesha smiled and edged towards the nearby bowl of food. "Are you hungry?"

Blitz hesitated, eyes slowly narrowing in what looked like suspicion. "If it's another plant, I'm not eating it." he told her sharply. Mesha almost laughed, remembering the wasp's last experience with plants. He'll probably be scarred for life...She heard the larger insect growl almost angrily. "It's not funny...It was the worst thing I ever tasted."

"Sorry." she apologized, Blitz grunting in response. She ignored this and picked up a blob of honeydew (the horror!). "You ever had this before?"

Blitz glanced at it and shook his head, probably wondering if this was worth his while. "I've never seen it in my life." he told her. Mesha was startled for a second. The wasps kidnap a lot of caterpillars, yet they've never seen honeydew before? Strange...

"Well, it's good. You can try it." she reached out, holding the green stuff close to his mouth. The giant bug's head recoiled a bit, as if the food would lash out at him.

"I'd rather not...You ants eat weird things. That's probably some mulched up _plant_." He gave the word contemptuous emphasis. Apparently, just because a plant helped him doesn't mean he'll like it. Mesha sighed.

"It's not a plant." At least she didn't think it was. In fact, she didn't know what honeydew was made of. All she knew was that it tasted delicious and that was good enough for her. "Just try it. What could it hurt?" She got an almost instant, sarcastic response.

"Well, let's see here...there's my mouth, my stomach, my _mind_." Mesha began losing her patience, which is something she rarely did. Being a nurse ant, she was born with a caring nature and a high annoyance thresh-hold. But this wasp was definitely starting to test her. And she thought he was doing it on purpose.

"Please. Just eat it. You'll never know if you like it unless you tried it. Besides, this came from caterpillars, and you like caterpillars, right?" She again offered the honeydew and this time, Blitz sighed in resignation. He leaned his head forward a bit and he seemed to examine the goo carefully, probably looking for plant qualities. He opened his jaws a little and took it. One taste and...

He spat it out immediately, almost splattering it on Mesha, but she jumped away in time. Blitz shook his head vigorously, coughing in disgust. "It's almost...as bad as...that leaf..." he gasped.

Mesha thought for a second. "Almost. That means we're making progress." she said hopefully. For the first time since they've met, Blitz glared directly at her and she wondered if she was pushing her luck. Well, her mind told her it was something that had to be done. If Blitz was staying until he was fully healed, then he'll have to find something to eat. Experimenting was the way to go.

Blitz seemed to pick that up, for he looked away and laid his head back down, grumbling to himself in a language the ant couldn't understand. Mesha bent down and carefully picked up a purple sweetrock. This one was her favorite, so maybe the wasp would like it too. Then again, she also liked honeydew and that didn't work out very well.

Well, there's only on way to find out...

"This is called a sweetrock. It's not a plant. It's human food." she quickly made that reassurance. Again, Blitz glanced at the food object nonchalantly.

"I'm assuming that this is my last choice." he muttered.

"Until I find something better, yes." she answered. Sighing once again, he moved his antennae towards the food, being sure to sniff it this time. He must've found the smell okay, for he opened his mouth. Fighting her instinct again, Mesha placed the food in his mouth and pulled her hand away hastily, just in case he was still angry at her and will snap at her. He didn't.

He was chewing at the sweetrock, not spitting it out this time. The ant watched as he swallowed it and his disposition returned to its previous benevolent state. He gave a soft chuckle.

"That one actually tasted pretty good. Thank you..."

* * *

Poor Frei...lost the last of his relations. But he seems to be having what science likes to call a displacement reaction and is apparently adopting our little ant character as his new sibling. So sad...

Looks like Blitz and Mesha are already having some rough patches. But it looks like it's gonna be fixed. This chappy is a bit shorter than the others, but I'm kinda on a tight schedule. Thanks for the reviews, they've really help me to even consider continuing this and my other Ant Bully stories. Please review and make my day again!


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